J&J; Unit to Buy Rights to Cholesterol Cutter

Raision Tehtaat Oy of Finland has entered into an agreement to sell a unit of Johnson & Johnson the exclusive U.S. rights to Benecol, a cholesterol-cutting substance made from plant byproducts. The purchaser, McNeil Consumer Products, said it is not sure how it will use the substance, which can be used in margarine, yogurt, mayonnaise, peanut butter and other products, but the market could be well in excess of $750 million a year, according to Davis Maris, an analyst at Aros Securities. Benecol faces review by the Food and Drug Administration before it can be sold in the United States. Raision said it plans to build a U.S. factory to produce the substance, with McNeil introducing products in the first half of next year. An attempt to launch a similar product, Olestra, has been slow in the United States because of the product’s apparent side effects. Shares in New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson, which reported a 15% rise in second-quarter earnings, fell $1.19 to close at $61.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.